Key:
Introduction: C E7 Am F9 C E7 Am F9
C
If you can't write
E7
In the proper way
Am
If you don't know
F9
How to conjugate
C
Maybe you flunked that class
E7
And maybe now you find
Am F9
That people mock you online
(Everybody wise up!)
C
Okay, now here's the deal
E7
I'll try to educate ya
Am
Gonna familiarize
F9
You with the nomenclature
C
You'll learn the definitions
E7
Of nouns and prepositions
Am
Literacy's your mission
F9
And that's why I think it's a
C
Good time
E7
To learn some grammar
Am
Now, did I stammer
F9
Work on that grammar
C
You should know when
E7
It's "less" or it's "fewer"
Am
Like people who were
F9
Never raised in a sewer
C
I hate these word crimes
E7
Like "I could care less" (Hey, Hey, Hey!)
Am
That means you DO care
F9
At least a little
C
Don't be a moron
Am
You'd better slow down
E7
And use the right pronoun
F9
Show the world you're no clown
C
Say you've got an "it"
E7
Followed by apostrophe "s"
Am
Now, what does that mean?
F9
You would not use "it&rsquo s" in this case
C
As a possessive (no, no, no!)
E7
It's a contraction (yeah, yeah, yeah!)
Am
What's a contraction?
F9
Well, it's the shortening of a word or a group of words
By omission of a sound or letter
C
Okay, now here are some notes
E7
Syntax you&rsquo re always mangling
Am
No X in "espresso"
F9
Your participle's danglin'
C
But I don't want your drama
E7
If you really wanna
Am F9
Leave out that Oxford comma
C
Just keep in mind that "be", "see", "are", "you"
E7
Are words, not letters
Am
Get it together
F9
Use your spell checker
C
You should never
E7
Write words using numbers
Am
Unless you're seven
F9
Or your name is Prince
C
I hate these word crimes (I hate them crimes)
E7
You really need a (I hate them crimes)
Am
Full-time proofreader (I mean those crimes)
F9
You dumb mouthbreather
C
Well, you should hire
E7
Some cunning linguist
Am
To help you distinguish
F9
What is proper English
C
One thing I ask of you
E7
Time to learn your homophones is past due
Am
Learn to diagram a sentence, too
F9
Always say "to whom", don't ever say "to who"
C
And listen up when I tell you this
E7
I hope you never use quotation marks for emphasis
Am
You finished second grade, I hope you can tell
F9
If you're doing good or doing well
C
You'd better figure out the difference
E7
Irony is not coincidence
Am
And I thought that you'd gotten it through your skull
F9
About what's figurative and what's literal
C
Oh, but just now, you said
E7
You "literally couldn't get out of bed"
Am
That really makes me want to literally
F9
Smack a crowbar upside your stupid head
C
I read your e-mail
E7
It's quite apparent
Am
Your grammar's errant
F9
You're incoherent
C
Saw your blog post
E7
It's really fantastic
Am
That was sarcastic (Oh, psych!)
F9
&rsquo Cause you write like a spastic
C
I hate these word crimes
E7
Your prose is dopey
Am
Think you should only
F9
Write in emoji
C
Oh, you're a lost cause
E7
Go back to pre-school
Am
Get out of the gene pool
F9
Try your best to not drool
C E7
Never mind, I give up
Am F9
Really now, I give up
C
Hey, hey, hey
Am
Hey, hey, hey
E7
Go away!